Mosskaw / Moskva: Sumarokov's Translations of Fleming's Sonnets (1)

Although Michael Henry Heim has pointed out that translation was ... no more than sideline for [Aleksandr Petrovich] (2) (1717-77), and Harold B. Segel has established that Sumarokov has virtually nothing in common with baroque, (3) this Russian literary pioneer, whom Segel has called the first truly modern writer in history of Russian literature, (4) provided Russian reading public in 1755 with its first translations of three sonnets by German Baroque poet Paul Fleming (1609-40)--translations which are significant both for Russian literary history (5) and for history of international reception of German Baroque literature. Sumarokov's selection of these three poems--an die grosse Stadt Mosskaw / als er schiede, An den Fluss Mosskaw / als er schiede, and Er redet die Stadt Mosskaw an / Als er ihre verguldeten Thurme von fernen sahe--was for obvious reasons natural one; Fleming had three times visited Moscow (1634, 1636 and 1639) with Adam Olearius on Holstein trade mission sent by Duke Friedrich III, and had written poems while there, glorifying Russian capital. Sumarokov, along with Mikhail Vasil'evich Lomonosov (1711-65) and Vasilii Kirillovich Trediakovskii (1703-69), was instrumental in establishing norms for foundation of modern Russian literature. He had learned German (along with French, of course) and had become acquainted with contemporary European literatures at Corps of Cadets (Sukhoputnyi shliakhetnyi korpus) in St. Petersburg, an academy for sons of nobility. He worked at introducing into Russian literature various poetic and dramatic genres then current in western Europe, and although sonnet was not one of fashionable genres of eighteenth century, Sumarokov tried his hand at it, producing, however, only nine, including three Fleming translations. Sumarokov was naturally familiar with major European literary movements of preceding century, and particularly with Fleming's poetry; noted Russian literary historian Mikhail Pavlovich Alekseev specifically points this out in his article on Fleming in USSR Academy of Sciences' Istoriia nemetskoi literatury v piati tomakh. (6) Sumarokov would have been able to read Fleming's sonnets in one of many reprints of German poet's works that had appeared since his death. That he was also familiar with other writers of Baroque is clear; in his Epistola II of 1747 (his two-verse Epistles--one on Russian language, other on versification--are important works in history of Russian poetry) he includes Hollander Joost van den Vondel (1587-1679) and German poet of late Baroque Johann Christian Gunther (1695-1723) among models worthy of imitation. (7) Incidentally, according to editor of Sumarokov's Izbrannye proiz-vedeniia, P. N. Berkov, Sumarokov compiled first Russian biographical lexicon of Russian and foreign writers, although brief one, for his two Epistles. (8) Entitled Primechaniia na upotreblennye v sikh epistolakh stikhotvortsev imena (Notes on names of poets used in these epistles), this list included following note on Gunther: a recent German poet whose carefully composed and polished verses, though far fewer than those of others, merit highest praise. (9) Sumarokov's translations of Fleming's sonnets appeared in 1755 in prestigious publication--Ezhemesiachnye Sochineniia k pol'ze i uveseleniiu sluzhashchie (Monthly compositions serving to benefit and entertain), published by Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, first scholarly literary journal in Russian literary history, which had begun publication that same year, with purpose of raising cultural level of literate public. Since only aristocracy was literate, readership would have been limited, and fact that journal was printed in 2,000 copies (10) attests its significance, as does fact that it numbered all three of giants of early Russian literary history--Sumarokov, Lomonosov, and Trediakovskii--among its contributors. …

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